Toad's latenight visitor
by NachtcGleiskette
Summary: Takes place about three years prior to my "Grandchild" fic. Toad suffers from insomnia, as does a very young inhabitant of the institute. Dedicated to Todd Fan........R


This is for Todd fan. A little fic for you as thanks for your awesome fics that always put a smile on my face. I've been away from my fic "Grandchild" for a while, and have been itching to do some more with TJ, because I just love her. And I thought that the interaction between her and Todd would be interesting, as that she is the product of his best love and worst enemy. I've even been becoming a Toad fan recently, at least evo-Toad, don't know about other Toads. Anyway, I got this idea, and it doesn't make much sense in any continuity, other than my "Grandchild" universe. For those not familiar with it, in this, the Brotherhood has joined the X men. Jean's with Scott, Kitty's with Lance, and Wanda's with Kurt, and they have a daughter, Talia Josephine. This fic takes place about three years before the events of "Granchild." Dig? Good. Enjoy!  
  
Disclaimer: "Are you kidding? Both gypsies, both mutants. You should see them it'd make you sick. They're like a couple of teenagers."  
  
~&~  
  
Todd lay awake in his bed. He glanced over at the clock. 12:52 am. Jeez, what was with insomnia these days? He had been having trouble sleeping of late. Maybe he just had too much on his mind. Truthfully, he had been thinking a lot, mainly he'd been thinking of his choice to join the X men. He wasn't sure he had made the right decision. The rest had joined, and they had been living in the mansion for five years already. They all seemed to be getting on really well, with the exception of himself. He hadn't yet found his niche in the X men, and spent most of his time by himself. It didn't help, of course, that Wanda was with Kurt. He hated even thinking about that. But she was happy, and that was all that really mattered to him. Wasn't it?  
  
He rolled over. Maybe joining wasn't the best thing for him. He should have gone out and seen the world, he should have lived. But instead, he'd followed Wanda here, like her little lap dog. And he'd lost her. No! Push those thoughts out, don't think about it!  
  
He glanced back at the clock. 1:03. He should have just gone out with the rest of them. They'd invited him, but he didn't really feel comfortable going. I mean, the group pretty much consisted of Kitty, Jean, Wanda, Lance, Kurt, Scott, Pietro, and some chick Pietro was currently seeing. It was like, a date. And he didn't have anyone to bring with him, so he declined. He needed his sleep, he'd told them. Like it was doing any good now. He closed his eyes tight, and tried to force himself to sleep. He couldn't believe that he thought that would work, in retrospect, but at the time, he had no other choice. He tossed a bit, trying to force sleep upon him, when he heard a small knock at his door.  
  
He opened one eye and pointed it at the door. What now? Didn't they know he was sleeping. "What?" he asked, irritated. The door opened and let in a slit of light as a small being stepped in.  
  
"Uncle Toad?" she asked in a shy whisper.  
  
He squinted as his eyes adjusted to the light. He could make out her small form, moving closer to the bed. "What is it, TJ?" he asked, pretending she had woken him.  
  
Her golden eyes glanced to the doll she clutched in her arms. "I had a scary dream."  
  
"It's ok, go back to sleep." He turned away from her.  
  
She sighed, sadly. "I can't, I'm scared."  
  
"There's nothing to be scared of TJ. Now, go back to bed." He closed his eyes, again, waiting for her to leave.  
  
But she didn't. He waited, and heard a small whimper. His eyes opened again, and he turned back to the three year old. "What's wrong now?"  
  
"It's dark and scary in my room. And there's a monster in there. And Mommy and Daddy aren't home yet." Tears poured down her blue cheeks as she clutched her doll tighter. "I'm really really REALLY scared."  
  
Todd sighed. He couldn't stand to see the kid so upset. "Well, do you want me to check out your room? I'll scare the monster away, eh?"  
  
She shook her head tearfully.  
  
"Well, you gotta go to sleep, TJ. It's very late and your Mom and Dad aren't gonna be happy seeing you up at this hour."  
  
She looked up to him with a small plea in her eyes. "Can I sleep in here?"  
  
Todd looked at the little girl. She had such desperation in her eyes, there was no way he could say no. He rolled his eyes at himself as he scooted over in the bed, holding the blankets up for her. She climbed up and put her head on the pillow, snuggling close to Todd. He was surprised by how comfortable she was with him, after all, he really wasn't too close to her. He loved her, she was Wanda's daughter. But she was also Kurt's daughter, so he kept his distance. He put his arm down and turned away from her, closing his eyes.  
  
He lay for a few minutes, thoughts passing through his mind at such a pace that sleep was still impossible. He turned in bed again, trying to get comfortable. He came face to face with Talia, who was still awake. "I still can't sleep, Uncle Toad."  
  
He smirked at her little nickname for him. 'Uncle Toad,' he repeated in his head. It was just so, adorable. "Well, close your eyes. Try that."  
  
She closed her eyes tight. A few seconds later, they reopened. "It didn't work!" she told him.  
  
He chuckled a bit. "Hmm, ok. How do you usually get to sleep?"  
  
"Daddy sings to me," she replied.  
  
'That ain't happening,' he thought. As if reading his mind she said: "Sometimes he tells me a story too."  
  
"Well, a story I can do." He thought for a second. He knew many stories, most of which began with "A ____, a ____, and a ____ walk into a bar." And none of these were appropriate for a three year old. He'd have to make something up. She sat waiting, staring at him with those beautiful yellow eyes. He smiled, as he began his story.  
  
"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess named Talia," he began.  
  
"That's my name," TJ said through a yawn. She snuggled up close against him, and pulled his arm around her.  
  
"Yup," Toad said before continuing. "She lived in a beautiful castle, near a beautiful lake."  
  
"Did she have a pony?" TJ asked, her eyelids heavy.  
  
"She sure did. And she loved to ride her pony all over the countryside. One day, she was riding her pony, and she came across a little fairy. She bent down to get a good look at the fairy, and noticed that one of its wings was bent. "Please, Princess Talia," the fairy said. "I broke my wing and can't fly back to fairy land. Can you help me?" Princess Talia picked the fairy up into her hands and brought her back to the castle. She brought the fairy to her Uncle Toad, who knew all about fairies and-" Toad paused and looked down at the little one and noticed her fast asleep. He smiled and kissed her atop her forehead. He closed his eyes, not noticing the figure in his doorway.  
  
"So how does it end?" He opened his eyes quickly. Wanda walked closer to the bed.  
  
He blushed a bit. "Uh, well, the fairy gets fixed and they all live happily ever after."  
  
"Ahh, yes, I see," she sat down on the bed, running her hand through her daughters hair. "Good story, I'll have to remember that one. She's been coming into mine and Kurt's room every night, lately. I don't think she likes her new bed."  
  
Todd chuckled nervously. "Yeah, I guess not."  
  
Wanda pulled TJ into her arms. "Come on, baby, off to bed with you," she said to her. The girl didn't even stir. Wanda looked back to Toad. "Thanks, Todd." She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.  
  
Todd put his hand to his cheek as he watched her walk out of the room. He smiled to himself. She'd called him Todd. He didn't think she even knew his real name, he was called Toad so often.  
  
He lay back in the bed, closing his eyes. He knew that nothing had really changed. Wanda would still never be with him, and when he woke up the next morning, everything would be as it always was. He would still be in the background, still the loner, still even the insomniac. But right now, none of it mattered. He could push all those thoughts aside, if only for tonight, and get some sleep.  
  
~&~  
  
Aww, cute little Todd and TJ fic. Actually, a cheesy little Todd and TJ fic, to be more precise. I know, its not my best work, but I just had to get it out of me. I absolutely love writing with baby TJ, she's such a great character to write for, but I guess that maybe this is because we know virtually nothing of her life before becoming an Exile, but its fun to speculate! Anyway, if you've made it this far in the fic, then go that extra step and review it!  
  
PS: if you can identify the quote in the disclaimer, you get a cookie! It shouldn't be too hard, its rather obvious.. 


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